Joshua 13:4

4 to the south; all the land of the Kena'ani; Me'arah, which belongs to the Tzidonim, as far as Afek and on to the border with the Emori;

Joshua 13:4 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 13:4

From the south, all the land of the Canaanites
That is, of those Canaanites who were particularly so called, in distinction from those of the other nations or tribes, and who dwelt in several parts of the land, some in the east and others in the west, see ( Joshua 11:3 ) ; and, as it seems here, some in the south: now on the side of the south, as Kimchi interprets it, all the land of the Canaanites was left, that is, remained unconquered and not possessed:

and Mearah that [is] beside the Sidonians;
the inhabitants of Sidon, and parts adjacent: what this place was, which belonged to the Sidonians, for so it may better be rendered, is not certain; some take it to be a cave belonging to them: Sandys ^F2 speaks of a number of caves cut out of the rock in those parts, called the caves of the Sidonians, and afterwards the caves of Tyre; so it is interpreted by the Targum, and in the Syriac and Arabic versions others take it to be the river Magoras, Pliny ^F3 makes mention of as on the borders of Lebanon near Zidon and Berytus: mention is made of the waters of Mearah along with the waters of Tiberias in Jewish writings ^F4; but rather something of more importance than a cave or a river is meant; most likely a tract of land near Sidon, and which belonged to it, and reached

unto Aphek, to the borders of the Amorites;
of this place, (See Gill on Joshua 12:18).

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FOOTNOTES:

F2 Travels, l. 3. p. 169. Ed. 5.
F3 Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 20.
F4 Misn. Sabbat. c. 22. sect. 5. T. Hieros. Sabbat, fol. 6. 1.

Joshua 13:4 In-Context

2 "This is the land that still remains: all the regions of the P'lishtim and all the G'shuri,

3 from the Shichor which fronts Egypt, to the border of 'Ekron (northward from there the land is considered as belonging to the Kena'ani)-that is, the territory of the rulers of the P'lishtim in 'Azah, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gat and 'Ekron; also the 'Avim

4 to the south; all the land of the Kena'ani; Me'arah, which belongs to the Tzidonim, as far as Afek and on to the border with the Emori;

5 the land of the Givli; all the L'vanon eastward, from Ba'al-Gad at the foot of Mount Hermon to the entrance of Hamat.

6 "As for the inhabitants of the hills between the L'vanon and Misrefot-Mayim, that is, all the Tzidonim, I myself will expel them ahead of the people of Isra'el; all you have to do is assign it to Isra'el as an inheritance, as I have ordered you.